Judges 6:11-27 - The Angel Of Yahweh Calls Gideon
11 The angel of Jehovah came to the village of Ophrah. He sat under the oak tree that belonged to Joash, a man of the clan of Abiezer. His son Gideon was secretly threshing wheat in a wine press, so that the Midianites would not see him. 12 Jehovah's angel appeared to him there and said: Jehovah is with you, mighty man of valor!
13 Gideon said to him: May I ask, sir, why has all this happened to us if Jehovah is with us? What happened to all the wonderful things that our fathers told us Jehovah used to do, how he brought them out of Egypt? Jehovah has abandoned us. He left us to the mercy of the Midianites.
14 Jehovah answered him: Go in the strength you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you.
15 Gideon replied: But Jehovah, how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh. I am the least important member of my family.
16 Jehovah answered: You can do it. I will help you. You will crush the Midianites as easily as if they were only one man.
17 Gideon replied: If you are pleased with me, give me proof that you are really Jehovah. 18 Please do not leave until I return and bring you an offering. Jehovah said: I will stay until you come back.
19 So Gideon went into his house and cooked a young goat and used a bushel of flour to make bread without any yeast. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, brought them to Jehovah's angel under the oak tree, and gave them to him.
20 The angel told him: Put the meat and the bread on this rock, and pour the broth over them. Gideon did so.
21 Jehovah's angel reached out and touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick he was holding. Fire came out of the rock and burned up the meat and the bread. Then the angel disappeared.
22 With that Gideon realized that it was Jehovah's angel he saw. He said in terror: Sovereign Lord Jehovah! I have seen your angel face-to-face!
23 Jehovah told him: Peace. Do not be afraid. You will not die. 24 Gideon built an altar to Jehovah there and named it: Jehovah is Peace. (Jehovah-shalom) It is still standing at Ophrah and belongs to the clan of Abiezer.
25 That night Jehovah told Gideon: Take your father's bull and another seven year old bull, tear down your father's altar to Baal, and cut down the symbol of the goddess Asherah, that is beside it. 26 Build a well-constructed altar to Jehovah your God on top of this mound. Take the second bull and burn it as a whole offering. Cut down the symbol of Asherah and use it for firewood. 27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did what Jehovah instructed him to do. He was afraid of his family and the people in town, so he did it at night.